Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 JANUARY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED on eight targets Sept. 18 against Purdue and was a complete non-factor Oct. 2 versus Cincinnati, with one reception on four targets. What followed was a clear case of in- season improvement. Austin has caught at least 75 percent of his targets in all but one game since that humbling day against the Bearcats and their bookend All- American cornerbacks. He has eclipsed 100 yards twice since Nov. 6. He ended the regular season with 42 catches for 783 yards and a team-high six touchdowns. 3. JD Bertrand — There isn't much of a control group to which Bertrand's 2021 season can be measured. The ju- nior linebacker played just 38 snaps from 2019-20, after all. But behind closed doors, the year- over-year improvement was clear and led to increased trust. Bertrand stepped into the starting lineup after Marist Liu- fau suffered a season-ending leg injury late in fall camp. All Bertrand did was lead the team in tackles, with 92. He posted 5.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sack and a forced fumble. He softened the blow of losing Liufau, who appeared primed for a breakout before his injury. TOP SURPRISES 1. Joe Alt — A surprise is something unexpected, and perhaps the most unexpected thing was not that a true freshman ended up being Notre Dame's best option to start at left tackle but rather who that true freshman was. Joe Alt, not Blake Fisher. The latter was lost to a knee injury in the season opener. The former wasn't fully discov- ered as an every day starter until more than a month later, but once Alt was reg- ularly inserted into the starting lineup everything seemed to click offensively. Notre Dame allowed 20 sacks through the first four games but just 13 over the last eight. Alt had a lot to do with the improved numbers. He looked like a natural at the position, and that's hard to do in year one as a college player. Who knows if Fisher would have even had the season Alt did? 2. JD Bertrand — Like Alt, Bertrand was not supposed to start this season. His opportunity came as a result of in- juries to Will linebackers Marist Liufau and Shayne Simon. Bertrand roared out of the gates with at least 11 tackles in each of the first three games of the season. He reached double digits only one other time in the final nine games, but he did enough to earn a start in all 12 games. If there were a player who could have a case for MVP recognition, it'd be Ber- trand. He played 668 defensive snaps. Jayson Ademilola ranked second in that category among Notre Dame's front seven with 353 snaps. Nearly 700 snaps in 12 games is a lot to ask of a linebacker. Bertrand, despite being a potential third-stringer at the beginning of Au- gust, was up for the challenge. 3. Chris Tyree — Not all surprises are welcomed ones. How many folks would have guessed Tyree would have fewer rushing yards than the player who was listed as Notre Dame's third-string quar- terback for the entirety of the season? Tyree's season was marred by a turf toe injury sustained Oct. 9 at Virginia Tech. He was never the same after that. But he wasn't the player many expected him to be before then, either. As with Williams and Coan, that was in large part because of the offensive line's woes at the time. But 35 carries for 112 yards in six games before the injury were cer- tainly not the numbers Tyree and his supporters had hoped for. The speedy sophomore finished the regular season with 50 carries for 204 yards and one touchdown. He caught 18 passes for 143 yards and another score. He was passed by true freshman Logan Diggs for the No. 2 role behind Williams by the end of the year. MOST UNDERRATED 1. Jarrett Patterson — When Notre Dame's offensive line couldn't get much worse in the first month of the season, senior center Jarrett Patterson didn't have much to do with it. He was the same guy all year. And yet, he was lumped in with every- one else when the media and fans took turns roasting the unit. And even when things got much better in mid-October and beyond, nobody really pointed to Patterson for his steadiness and stability. Patterson was Notre Dame's highest- graded offensive lineman per Pro Foot- ball Focus. He had a nice season. He's being rewarded for it here. 2. Jayson Ademilola — The statis- tics Ademilola accumulated as an inte- rior offensive lineman were quite stag- gering. He was second behind Foskey for the most tackles for loss (8.0) on the Senior defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola (57) ranked fourth on the team with 44 total stops, and was second with 8.0 tackles for loss and third with 3.5 sacks. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER